Bloody Inland Revenue

As an organisation, the Inland Revenue tend to be a rather annoying bunch of people to deal with.  Unfortunately being a small business owner, I have to deal with these sorts of people at least once a year if not more.  Now as I’m sure you’d probably be thinking, my issue with these people is because every year they come and take a massive bite out of my business profits in the form of taxes.  Yet I can honestly say, I believe wholeheartedly in the tax system and as such, have no problem paying my contributions so that we can enjoy using roads and general infrastructure.

No, my problem is in the type of people who work there and their general unhelpfulness.  In my other article, ‘Top Five Annoying People’I mention that one type of these five annoying folk are the bureaucrats, small minded people who seem to have no creativity and simple obedience to the rules.  Now I am not recommending one intentionally breaks the rules for this would lead to anarchy (read my parallel article, ‘Bloody Anarchists’).

Yet in regards to bureaucrats who seem to swamp employment with this branch of the civil service, perhaps due to all the rules associated with it, trying to get the obvious done is extremely difficult.  For instance, you simply want to get hold of a form, but in order to do so, you have to call general helpline who then tell you that you need to call another number and their policy states they are not allowed to transfer you directly.

So you call number given, follow the repetitively ‘press 5 for’ voice and hung around for half an hour listening to the likes of Green sleeves.  You get through to somebody at last, who asks you the form you require.  You tell them, only for them to ask the reference code of the form, E45, J5G, etc.  Obviously you have no idea, to which you get the response ‘Well I’m afraid I can’t help you.  Bye.’  Grrr.

I don’t know why these people don’t seem to have any empathy when it comes to us average folk who unaware of all the various rules and forms.  Also, why bureaucrats seem to always stick to the rules, even when doing so is less productive or lacks common sense in long term, I don’t know.  However, although I can’t as yet afford an accountant to deal with these people for me, I can fortunately say that I only personally have to deal with these folk only one in a while.  Thank God!